A storm was brewing outside, the wind howling off Bear Mountain like a lion roaring. Grateful to be inside, Kate filled the kettle with water to heat for tea.
Having Riggs in her house resurrected teenage insecurities she thought she’d finally overcome. Every girl in school had crushed on him. With his thick dark hair, smoky eyes and that dimple in his right cheek, he was a charmer.
And that body. He’d been fit when he’d played soccer, but the man had gained muscle and grown three more inches. He must be at least six-three because he towered over her and made her feel small, which, at five-seven and with her curves, she wasn’t.
She’d never been one of the skinny girls who nibbled on rabbit food and wore crop tops to show off her flat belly like Brynn had done. Brynn’s beauty-pageant-coordinator mother had pressured Brynn into near starvation to fit into a size two, so Brynn had always snuck in cookies and pizza at Kate’s house before she went home.
Kate had never been a size two and never would be. Her mother said she’d bloomed early. She’d developed boobs by age eleven, which had drawn ogles from the hormonal boys who interpreted that to mean she was easy. Her hips had followed, giving her curves and an added ten, fifteen pounds. The unwanted attention had heightened her insecurities about her body.
But after high school, she’d worked hard to overcome a negative self-image and hoped to be a role model to other young girls.
Footsteps jerked Kate back to reality, and she squared her shoulders. With his sexy physique and those smoldering eyes, Riggs could have a woman disrobing for him in seconds. But she silently reminded herself that he was not there for personal reasons. He’d simply given her a ride home. For all she knew, his latest love interest might be waiting on him at home tonight. Waiting in his bed...
“Everything looks clear,” Riggs said, although he didn’t quite meet her eyes when he looked at her. “Do you have a security system?”
“No. I’ve thought about it, but I always felt safe here.” An odd thing to say considering the town had nearly been destroyed by a mass murder. And if Ned had had an accomplice as Stone Lawson’s father had suspected, another killer might be hiding in plain sight in Briar Ridge. He could have been there all along.
The teakettle whistled and she quickly turned off the stove. Her hand trembled as she poured hot water into a mug and dunked a tea bag inside.
“Would you like some tea?” she asked. Lame. Riggs was not the tea-sipping kind of man. She turned to face him, eyebrows raised. “Or something stronger? I have whiskey.”
A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I didn’t figure you for a whiskey kind of girl.”
Kate blushed. “What kind of girl did you figure me for?”
“Tea,” he said with a chuckle.
She couldn’t resist a comeback. “I might surprise you.” Perspiration beaded on her forehead. Had she just flirted with Riggs? Heaven help her. She must be more shaken than she’d thought.
“I have a feeling you’re full of surprises, Kate,” he murmured in a voice laced with innuendo.
He flirts with every female he meets. Don’t let it go to your head.
Determined not to make a fool out of herself, Kate reached inside her cabinet, removed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, added a shot to her tea and poured a finger into a highball glass for him.
Their hands brushed when she gave him the drink, and a thread of desire rippled through her.
Riggs’s gaze locked with hers, tension simmering between them. Had he read her reaction?
Of course, he had. He was experienced with women. Smooth.
She was as smooth as cracked glass.
Thankfully, her brain interceded and overrode her silly fantasies. She might have escaped a burning car tonight, but she’d be playing with fire if she imagined Riggs was interested in her. Well...he might be interested in sex just because he liked women—all women—but it would be nothing more. And she didn’t intend to be a notch on his bedpost.
Needing to wrangle her wayward thoughts, she carried her mug to the sofa and sank onto it. Riggs joined her, facing her from the oversize club chair by the fireplace. Somehow, his big body looked comfortable there, like he belonged.
You must have inhaled too much smoke. It’s making you light-headed.
“For the record, Kate,” Riggs said, his voice gruff, “I think your plans for the school are admirable.”
His praise warmed the chill invading her. “Thanks. After my mother died, I stayed in our house for a long time. But everywhere I looked, I saw her ghost. And her perfume was permanently embedded in the walls.”
His look darkened. “I know losing her was difficult. She was an amazing woman, and the best teacher I ever had.”
“She was a great mother, too, loving and kind and always so positive. I never want to forget her and her sacrifice,” Kate said. “But living in that house without her was just so h...ard. I knew Mom wouldn’t want me having a pity party.” She ran her finger around the rim of her mug and bit her tongue. For heaven’s sake, why was she babbling?
Unable to stop herself, though, she continued. “After I finished my Masters, I talked to Amy. She suggested I sell the house and make a fresh start.” Kate blew into her tea, lost in thought for a moment as she remembered her initial reaction to the suggestion. “I balked at the idea at first. It felt like I was betraying my mother. That if I moved from our home, I’d forget her.” The same way locals were reacting to tearing down the school.
“What changed your mind?”
“Eventually, I realized she would have wanted me to move on and be happy. So I slowly started cleaning out, and discovered it was cathartic. I kept things that were sentimental and looked around for a place to move. The developer was just building the bungalows on this street. Suddenly the prospect of having my own place where I could put my stamp on it excited me.” She gestured around the living area and kitchen. “I brought the good memories with me here and decided to build a future that Mom would be proud of.”
“That’s the reason you pushed so hard for the new school building,” Riggs said quietly.
“It’s been years. I thought it was time to move on,” Kate said “New places inspire new beginnings that can lead to a more positive future.”
“People just need time.” He sipped his whiskey, drawing her gaze to the long column of his throat as he swallowed.
How could a man’s throat possibly be sexy?
Oblivious to her ridiculous thoughts, he leaned forward, his gaze pinning her. She barely resisted the urge to squirm. She had no idea why she’d poured out her personal feelings. Except, Riggs was easy to talk to. And tonight had rattled her and resurrected memories from high school.
Another memory sobered her. Riggs and Cassidy Fulton. Cassidy’s son’s face flashed in her mind. Roy was a gangly kid who didn’t make friends easily. And he desperately needed a father.
But Riggs had never owned up to the fact that he was Roy’s father, nor had he been a presence in Roy’s life. Just like her own father hadn’t.
RIGGS BATTLED THE urge to kiss Kate. Her story had touched his heart.
In spite of his bad boy reputation, he did not take advantage of vulnerable, frightened women.
And judging from the way Kate was avoiding eye contact with him, she wouldn’t welcome his lips on hers.
That fact stung, but he wrangled in his libido. If he wanted her to think he was a better man than his father or the lowlife everyone thought him to be for abandoning his teenage pregnant girlfriend, he had to prove it.
Act like a gentleman. Keep his hands to himself.
Even if it killed him.
Talk business. “Kate, other than Billy, is there anyone in particular who’d want to hurt you?”
She ran a hand through the long strands of that wavy auburn hair, making his hands itch to touch it.
“Probably half the folks at that meeting tonight. You heard them.” She dropped her hand back to her lap. “The truth is I understand their feelings,” she said, compassion flickering in her eyes. “Change is difficult. So is forgiveness.”
True. “Have you received any threats lately?”
She worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Not exactly,” she said slowly.
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean not exactly?”
Indecision played across Kate’s face before she set her mug on the coffee table and retrieved her purse. She removed an envelope from inside and offered it to him.
He removed the invitation to the dedication ceremony, confused at first. Then he spotted the hand-scrawled message on the back.
It was your fault.
Anger tightened every muscle in Riggs’s body. “When did you get this?”
“Today. It was in the mail at school.”
The timing was definitely suspicious. She’d received a cryptic message the same day as the town meeting, only hours before her SUV had burst into flames.
He turned the envelope over in his hand and scrutinized it further. “No return address?”
“And no signature.”
“Did you see who delivered it?”
“No. The staff had already left so I didn’t get a chance to ask them either.”
“Someone must have dropped it off in person?”
“Or put it in the mailbox outside the school.”
Riggs considered the possibilities. “Meaning it could have been a student or anyone in town.”
Kate ran a hand through her hair again. Dammit, he wished she’d quit touching it. The urge to replace her fingers with his own grabbed him once more. To see if her hair was as silky as it looked.
“I guess it could have been a current student, although I can’t think of anyone I’ve had serious trouble with this year,” Kate said. “Besides, the message implies whoever sent it blames me for the shooting, which suggests it’s a former student or a family member of one.”
Riggs tossed back the remainder of his whiskey then leaned forward, hands on his knees. “The shooting wasn’t your fault, Kate. Ned was a troubled teenager.”
Emotions clouded Kate’s face. “But it was my fault,” she said, her voice quivering.
Riggs didn’t believe that for a minute, but obviously Kate did. “Why would you say that?”
Kate dropped her head into her hands and squeezed her eyes closed. She looked so tormented that he wanted to wrap his arms around her and comfort her.
But he clenched his hands by his sides and forced himself not to reach for her.
SHAME FILLED KATE, mingling with the guilt that had dogged her for years. She’d kept quiet about her part in Ned’s breakdown. If Riggs knew her secret, he might hate her.
She’d give anything to be able to go back and rewrite time.
“Kate, talk to me.”
The tenderness in his voice almost undid her. But she’d held in the truth for so long that it was time to break her silence. “I turned Ned down when he asked me to the school dance,” she admitted. “I...didn’t think anything about it at the time. I was shy and worried about my Trig exam, and... I rejected him without considering his feelings.”
Riggs scrubbed a hand down his face. “Turning a guy down for a date is no reason for him to go crazy and shoot up the school, Kate. Ned had emotional problems.”
“I know. Kids bullied him and teased him, but I didn’t do anything about it. Didn’t stand up for him.”
“You weren’t personally responsible for him or anyone else except yourself,” Riggs said.
Tears glistened in Kate’s eyes. “But Billy said my rejection sent Ned over the edge.”
Anger flashed across Riggs’s face. “Billy Hodgkins is a bully. Always was. Always will be.”
Kate had never liked Billy, either. He’d pick fights with guys and tried to cop a feel with girls when no one was looking.
But he’d lost his brother because of her, and she understood why he hated her.
“When did Billy tell you this?” Riggs asked.
“At Mom’s funeral.” Kate massaged her temple as the painful memory resurfaced. The day she’d buried her mother was a rainy day. The wind had blown leaves and silk flowers across the cemetery while half the residents and students stood sniffling and crying beneath black umbrellas. Others were at the hospital with their children who’d been injured. Brynn had been undergoing surgery.
And Macy...? She’d needed her friend, but she’d deserted Kate.
“What else did Billy say, Kate?”
“That Ned had a huge crush on me, and it took him weeks to get up his nerve to ask me out. When I blew him off, it broke him.”
She swallowed hard. “If I’d agreed to go to the dance with him, maybe he wouldn’t have brought that gun to school and murdered our classmates and my mother.” She wrung her hands together. Her nails were clipped short to keep her from biting them, but she had a habit of rubbing her fingers together when she was nervous. She was absentmindedly doing that now.
Riggs’s hand covered hers, stilling her jittery movements. “Look at me, Kate.”
She shook her head. It was difficult enough to face herself in the mirror, much less look at the town hero.
“Kate. Look. At. Me.” His firm but tender voice made her glance up, and she swallowed hard.
“School shootings are a complex problem. If you’re to blame, then so am I, and every other kid at school who ever ignored Ned. So are the teachers and society and social media,” Riggs said firmly.
Amy had said the same thing. Still, Kate wished she’d been nicer to Ned.
Riggs wrapped her hands in his, rubbing them. “If Billy is still bitter and blames you, he might have sent that note to spook you.”
Riggs released her hands and stood. “I’ll call Stone in the morning and ask him to have a talk with Billy.”
Kate stood, although she was reluctant for him to leave. She’d lived alone for years, but the letter of blame and car fire disturbed her, and she suddenly didn’t want to be alone.
“Get that security system set up tomorrow,” he reminded her.
Emotions welled in her throat. “I will. I also need to call my insurance company about the repairs and arrange for a rental car.”
He carried his glass to the kitchen and set it on the counter, then walked to the door. She followed, torn between pushing him out the door and asking him to stay. He filled her doorway with his massive shoulders and big body.
Lord help her, he oozed sex appeal. Afraid he could read her mind, she dragged her gaze away from him and folded her arms across her chest.
“Thanks for driving me home.”
“Of course.” He paused at the door. “Remember what I said, Kate. The shooting wasn’t your fault, so don’t let that damn note get to you.”
She gave a little nod, although telling herself that and believing it were two different things.
“You need to show it to Stone,” Riggs said. “Maybe he can lift some prints from it, or have the handwriting analyzed.”
“I’ll drop it by his office tomorrow.”
“I can do it if you want,” Riggs offered. “I want to talk to him about your car anyway.” His brow furrowed. “Or maybe I can pick you up, and we can go together. I’ll drive you over to pick up that rental car, too.”
Kate stiffened. “I don’t want to impose on you. You’ve already done enough.”
His eyes flashed with irritation. “I have a couple of days off and don’t mind driving you,” he said. “I want to make sure you’re safe, Kate.”
She wanted to ask why he cared. They weren’t even friends. But she clamped her mouth shut. Riggs was not only a fireman, he also worked arson investigation.
Maybe he suspected the fire wasn’t accidental.
He removed a card from his pocket and laid it on the table by the door. “My phone number—cell and work. Call me if you need anything.”
She needed him to stay. To hold her tonight and help her forget that she could have died in that fire.
To help her forget that someone might hate her enough to want her dead.
Get a grip, Kate. You have to stand on your own.
So she said good-night and watched him leave. As his vehicle disappeared down the drive, she locked and bolted the door and walked back to the living room.
Odd, but the big club chair looked empty without Riggs in it.
Silently chastising herself for falling prey to his charm, she rinsed her mug, stowed it and his glass in the dishwasher.
She checked the sliding-glass doors to make sure they were locked then stepped into her bedroom.
The scent of Riggs’s masculine aftershave lingered from when he’d searched her house. She wondered what he’d thought about her furnishings.
Stupid. Riggs Benford was not the kind of man who noticed a woman’s furniture. He was a player.
And she didn’t intend to be played. Even if he was interested—which he was not.
She changed into a tank top and pajama pants, then folded down her thick purple comforter. An image of Riggs stretched out naked on her bed taunted her.
He would look ridiculous against the plush bedding. But her bed would be so much cozier with his sexy body in it.
She punched her pillow. She had to banish those kinds of thoughts. She wanted more than one night with a man.
And Riggs wasn’t the commitment type.
A noise outside jarred her and she startled. The wind? Thunder?
Nerves on edge, she hurried to the sliding-glass doors, opened them, then stepped onto her screened porch and looked out into the night. Lighting zigzagged across the tops of the pines and oaks, sharp jolts of light against the jagged ridges of Bear Mountain and the dark, inky night.
Then a movement.
Fear slithered through her. Someone was in the woods behind her house...
DAMN. DAMN. DAMN.
He watched Kate McKendrick through the window of her bedroom with a mixture of hate and disappointment.
She had made it out of the car alive. She should have died.
Then maybe all this talk about tearing down the old school would stop.
He’d lit a joint and taken a drag as he’d watched that firefighter drive away.
Riggs Benford. Arson investigator. Town hero.
He could be a problem. But he couldn’t save Kate. Not if she kept moving ahead with the dedication and reunion.
All the classmates who’d left town were coming back now. He’d heard them at the diner, the coffee shop, everywhere he went in town. They were already gathering and reminiscing. Talking about the good old days.
And the bad one. The one that had ripped apart friends and families and put some of them in the ground.
His life was bad enough. That was the last thing he needed.
For folks to remember. Then they might figure out who he was.
He’d blow all of them to pieces before he allowed that to happen.